The Latin American international investment and insurance marketplace is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with the demand for protection of assets amid volatile political and economic backdrops as necessary in 2020 as it ever was.
Across the Latin American region, the need for both products and advice is on the rise.
The inaugural International Investment Latin America Forum will look at where the industry is heading, the challenges and opportunities for the industry in the region, and how advisers, brokers and product providers are adapting to political and regulatory changes.The event will take place on Tuesday, 6th June , Miami.

The inaugural International Investment London Forum will look at where the industry is heading, the challenges and opportunities for the industry in the region, and how advisers, brokers and product providers are adapting to political and regulatory changes.The event will take place on Thursday, 30th April at the South Place Hotel, London.

The 21st International Investment Awards will take place on 8th October 2020, at One Whitehall Place, London. The II Awards are the longest-running event of their kind and last year saw a record number of categories and entries.

It is another revolution, but ­investors have yet to acknowledge ­Russia's vastly improved economic ­fundamentals, growing political s­tability following presidential e­lections, valuations last seen in the 1990s, and a new determination to tackle corruption and inefficiency across public and private sectors.

Peter Elam Håkansson, East ­Capital's chairman and founding partner, says European i­nvestors in particular remain mired in their own financial crisis and are finding it d­ifficult to lift their eyes to ­opportunities on their doorstep.

Aivaras Abromavicius, adviser and member of the portfolio ­management team, recounted how one US ­institutional investor admitted they could not move beyond their deep "historical suspicion" of Russia, despite evidence of robust economic fundamentals and outlook.

Debunking myths

Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson ­Institute for Economics and an adviser to the company board, says: "Russia's economy is in ­excellent shape.

"GDP growth at 4% per annum, a budget surplus of 0.8% of GDP, a current account surplus of $10bn, inflation at 4% annualised, ­unemployment at 6%, foreign reserves at $500bn (the third largest in the world) - there are no concerns on the macroeconomic front at all."

Yet international investors ­persist in marking down Russia and attaching a risk premium they do not demand from other emerging ­markets. Marcus Svedberg, chief economist for East Capital (pictured), which has $5.5bn assets under management, says the perception is annoying, unfair, and "difficult to explain from a financial point of view".

Critics cite two main reasons for caution: Russia's dependency on a high oil price, and political stability.

The latter has certainly been a factor, but the March presidential election, which saw Vladimir Putin back in office for another six years, marked a watershed in Russia's ­political ­evolution.